Bond
by pusa.is.me
Summary: The Mugiwara captain and first mate have a bond like no other.
1. Bond

**Title: Bond**

**Characters: Roronoa Zoro, Monkey D. Luffy**

**Genre: Friendship (or, better yet, _nakama-_ship)**

**Summary: The Mugiwara captain and first mate have a bond like no other.**

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_He has more faith in him than he would care to admit._

Sometimes he wonders why he follows an idiot for a captain, someone whose childish ways had gotten them into as many troubles as he could remember. Luffy is loud, shallow, overly enthusiastic about _anything_, and in more than one circumstance just plain stupid. He finds the weirdest enemies to fight, even weirder people for friends, and he possesses such a weird optimism to be the Pirate King it sometimes drives the people around him mad.

Yet every time someone hurts someone he loves, the Mugiwara captain does not hesitate to teach that moron a lesson he will never forget. He will not just stand there and watch one of his _nakama_ suffer, so he defeated Arlong because he made Nami cry, and he saved Alabasta from Crocodile because he knows how important that kingdom is for Vivi. And he will fight countless battles just to protect the people he cares about so much, and he will always, _always_ win in the end, because aside from his superhuman strength, Luffy possesses an inert determination to succeed not for himself but for those he believes in, who, in turn, believe in him as well.

He will never let his _nakama_ down.

And yet, despite all his abilities and passion for just about _everything_, the Mugiwara captain also feels burned out once in a while, or at the very least tired and discouraged. He may possess a devil fruit's power, but deep inside he is still human—a child, to be exact. And during those times when Luffy appears so down he could no longer smile as widely as he used to, that is when the first mate does his first and most important job—to look out for the captain.

He isn't exactly the best listener, but Luffy rarely shares his insecurities with other people anyway. So he would do the thing he does best—sit beside the captain and keep quiet, while Luffy looks out into the sea, until slowly and quietly all his fears and doubts begin to vanish and he returns to his old, super-enthusiastic self. They exchange no word, but the bond between them is enough to reassure the captain that Zoro will always be there to watch his back, so he has nothing to fear.

As long as Zoro is there, Luffy will be able to lead the crew to the best of his abilities, because he knows that his first mate has his back, ready to support him any time he needs it.

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**021412: Six years after it was first published, this chapter has _finally _been edited. Hoorah for procrastination. No grave changes, just glaring errors that needed to be scraped out or revised. Amazing how I can spot so many things to correct, six years after I reread my work.**


	2. First Mate Roronoa Zoro

**Title:** **First Mate Roronoa Zoro**

**Characters: Roronoa Zoro, Bartholomew Kuma**

**Genre: Friendship/Family**

**Summary: ****What were fulfilled dreams if you cannot share it with the people you cared for the most?**

**Warning: Spoilers for _One Piece_ Chapter 485: ****Member of the Strawhat Crew - Pirate Hunter Zoro**

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When Bartholomew Kuma offered (although it actually sounded like a threat) to spare their lives in exchange for their captain's head, each and every member of the Mugiwara pirates protested furiously and almost yelled bloody murder to the imposing _shichibukai_. But no one was able to compete with the bushido's rage, nor his resolve to fight the Devil Fruit user just to protect Luffy's life. It was foolish, even more foolish than fighting Mihawk back at the Baratie, because at least then he was in excellent health (although that didn't help him defeat the _shichibukai_ swordsman at all), whereas now, not only was he at the brim of exhaustion from fighting one of the CP9, he was also at the point of losing consciousness for standing up against Gecko Moria.

But of course, the idiotic marimo _didn't_ care.

The deal he made with Kuma was obviously suicidal, but he didn't think twice and received the blow which Luffy should have gotten himself. It wasn't a rash impulse on his part, and he'd probably never do it for anyone else, but it was Monkey D. Luffy's life that was at stake. And Roronoa Zoro, first mate of the Mugiwara pirates, vowed to make Luffy the Pirate King.

_(It was the same exact vow Portgas D. Ace made to his captain Whitebeard, but that's another story.)_

He wanted to be the greatest swordsman in the world. He wanted to keep his promise to Kuina, to have his name recognized everywhere, to be famous enough that his reputation will reach up to the heavens. But he was, first and foremost, a member of the Mugiwaras. And not just a mere member— he was the first mate. And first mates, he learned quickly in the game, were supposed to protect the captain with their lives. No one is as valuable as the captain, especially if the captain is someone like Luffy. Sure, he is as stupid and dumb as hell, but he loves his crew to the best of his abilities, and he has faith in each and everyone, even during those countless times when it seems as if there is no hope left, as if all their battles would be lost, as if all their past efforts were a waste.

And Zoro can never, ever forgive himself if he let Luffy die.

He already lost Kuina. Damn it all if he had to lose another friend again. What were fulfilled dreams if you cannot share it with the people you cared for the most? He'd rather die than see that day come.

So he stood there until the end, absorbing all the pain intended for Luffy, and as the last sting entered his now breaking body, he whispered the most silent of prayers to a God he had chosen to neglect for the longest time:

_"Keep him safe. Let him reach his dream, Kami, let him be the Pirate King."_

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**Zoro isn't particularly my favorite Mugiwara, but I have to admit that after this chapter, my respect for him grew to a new level. He's such an idiot! No wonder my sister loves him.**


	3. Rashomon

**Title:** **Rashomon**

**Characters: Roronoa Zoro, Monkey D. Luffy, mention of Nico Robin and the other Mugiwaras**

**Genre: Friendship/Family**

**Summary: There was little one can do when he is required to spend day after day with the most honest, loyal, _idiotic _pirate East Blue has ever produced.**

**Warning: Spoilers for _One Piece_ Chapter 371: ****King Captain T-Bone**

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Trust doesn't come easy for him.

It comes with the territory—he is, after all, an ex-pirate hunter, and one of the golden rules in pirate hunting is that you never _ever _let your guard down, no matter the situation. Trust can lead you to failure, or worse, death.

Joining the Mugiwara taught him to trust in others, bit by bit. It was a long and winding road—the journey to complete reliance and dependence on other people—but there was little one can do when he is required to spend day after day with the most honest, loyal, _idiotic _pirate East Blue has ever produced. And so he learned to trust Nami to navigate Going Merry properly—not that his biological compass was anything to be proud of; Ussop to hit his intended target from half a mile away; Chopper to be beside him in a flash to tend to his wounds—even when he insists that a good bottle of sake and a long nap is all he need to recuperate; Sanji to whip up the perfect dish from nothing without trying to poison him—though sometimes suspects that the cook might have thought about it once or twice; Luffy to beat the opponents that even he could not defeat.

And then Nico Robin came along.

And he most definitely did _not_ trust her.

Listing down his reasons was too tedious a task, and Zoro wasn't one to dwell in details anyway. If asked to sum it up, he'll come up with one explanation—she came barging in their lives without permission.

So he kept an eye on her—teamed up with her whenever possible, waiting for her to slip, especially after the incident with Aokiji. Because he was the first mate, _damn it_, and he will not allow anyone, not even a new nakama, to hurt his captain. Especially since said captain is the most trusting person in the entire Grand Line and beyond.

But Luffy _trusted_ her.

So much, that he was unwilling to give her up, even when she had blatantly told Sanji and Chopper that she wanted nothing more to do with the crew, that she was merely using them to get what she wanted, that they were better off without her.

No, not even the obvious lie (for it was a lie, Zoro realized later on) stopped Luffy from hopping on the Puffing Tom in an attempt to get their historian back.

It was then that Zoro _finally_ allowed himself to trust Robin as well.

When part of the other train came rushing toward them—blocking their path to Enies Lobby and the self-sacrificing archeologist—the Mugiwara captain merely called out to his first mate.

"Hey Zoro!"

"Hm?"

"Cut it down! It's in the way."

And because Zoro knew that Luffy trusted him with the simplicity and genuineness of a five-year-old—that is, with his life and the life of everyone else on board the Puffing Tom—he answered the only way he knew how.

"Sure."

And cut it he did.

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**One of my favorite LuffyxZoro moments. Not yaoi, obviously. Just pure, unadulterated nakama-ship.**


End file.
